Natwar Singh against another extension to Pathak inquiry

New Delhi, Apr 27: Former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh today took strong exception to the reported proposal to give another extension to the Justice R S Pathak Inquiry Authority probing the charges of involvement against him, the Congress party and some Indian companies in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam.

''I am perplexed by the extension being asked and given,'' he said and demanded that the inquiry be put on ''fast track'' to enable him and his son, Jagat Singh, to get their names cleared in the case ''as soon as possible.'' Asserting that he and his son were quite confident of coming out clean on the issue, he said if they had done anything wrong ''they would have proved it by now.'' ''Neither I nor my son had any business deal with Andaleeb Saigal,'' who was considered close to them and whose name figured as the recipient of the oil coupons, he said.

Mr Natwar Singh made the remarks in an interview to the CNBC television channel for its programme ''India Tonight,'' hosted by Mr Karan Thapar.

Alleging that investigating authorities had kept revising the money involved in the scam, he said from Rs 400 crore it was brought down to Rs 200 crore and now it appeared that they were talking about a mere 45,000 dollars.

In the 30-minute interview, the former Minister fielded questions on a wide range of issues, including the new conditions being sought to be brought in by the United States in the Indo-US nuclear deal and the situation in Nepal.

Replying to a question, he regretted that he and his son had become the lone target in the oil coupon scam, though the Congress had also been named in the Volcker committee report.

''I am sure, it is for the Congress to make it clear'' that none of its leaders was the beneficiary of any illegal gratification in the oil scam.

Admitting that he had visited Iraq as the head of a Congress goodwill delegation, Mr Natwar Singh said he was carrying a letter of party President Sonia Gandhi addressed to the then Iraqi President Saddam Hussain. He handed over the letter to the Vice President as he could not meet Mr Hussain, he said. On the nuclear deal with the US, he said the government should explain to Parliament and the people of India the hearings in the US Senate and the House of Representatives which were quite disturbing.

While the July 18, 2005, deal was only about cooperation in civil nuclear energy on the basis of reciprocal measures to be taken by both the countries, there was no mention of reciprocity in the Senate and House hearings, he said.

Further, US leaders were talking about India having agreed to a unilateral moratorium on testing and attempting to introduce new clauses which would put a cap on nuclear fuel supplies.

He also maintained that it was not a one-time waiver that was being sought from the US Congress for establishing nuclear cooperation between India and the US. Such waivers would have to be obtained time and again to keep the deal alive, he said.

Charging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with changing his stand on Nepal, Mr Natwar Singh gave the credit for convincing King Gyanendra about the need for reviving Parliament and restoring multi-party democracy to CPI(M) Politbureau member Sitaram Yechury, who had evolved a seven-point formula, and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee who had forwarded the formula to Kathmandu.

UNI